Like any other subject, the study of religion is a child of its time. Shaped and forged over the course of the twentieth century, it has reflected the interests and political situation of the world at the time. As the twenty-first century unfolds, it is undergoing a major transition along with religion itself. This volume showcases new work and new approaches to religion which work across boundaries of religious tradition, academic discipline and region. The influence of globalizing processes has been evident in social and cultural networking by way of new media like the internet, in the extensive power of global capitalism and in the increasing influence of international bodies and legal instruments. Religion has been changing and adapting too. This handbook offers fresh insights on the dynamic reality of religion in global societies today by underscoring transformations in eight key areas: Market and Branding; Contemporary Ethics and Virtues; Intimate Identities; Transnational Movements; Diasporic Communities; Responses to Diversity; National Tensions; and Reflections on 'Religion'. These themes demonstrate the handbook's new topics and approaches that move beyond existing agendas. Bringing together scholars of all ages and stages of career from around the world, the handbook showcases the dynamism of religion in global societies. It is an accessible introduction to new ways of approaching the study of religion practically, theoretically and geographically.

The Marketization of Religion provides a novel theoretical understanding of the relationship between religion and economy of today's world. A major feature of today's capitalism is 'marketization'. While the importance that economics and economics-related phenomena have acquired in modern societies has increased since the consumer and neoliberal revolutions and their shock waves worldwide, social sciences of religion are still lagging behind acknowledging the consequences of these changes and incorporating them in their analysis of contemporary religion. Religion, as many other social realities, has been traditionally understood as being of a completely different nature than the market. Like oil and water, religion and the market have been mainly cast as indissoluble into one another. Even if notions such as the marketization, commoditization or branding of religion and images such as the religious and spiritual marketplace have become popular, some of the contributions aligned in this volume show how this usage is mostly metaphorical, and at the very least problematic. What does the marketization of religion mean? The chapters provide both theoretical and empirical discussion of the changing dynamics of economy and religion in today's world. Through the lenses of marketization, the volume discusses the multiple, at times surprising, connections of a global religious reformation. Furthermore, in its use of empirical examples, it shows how different religions in various social contexts are reformed due to growing importance of a neoliberal and consumerist logic. This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal Religion.

This book, together with a complementary volume 'Religion in Consumer Society', focuses on religion, neoliberalism and consumer society; offering an overview of an emerging field of research in the study of contemporary religion. Claiming that we are entering a new phase of state-religion relations, the editors examine how this is historically anchored in modernity but affected by neoliberalization and globalization of society and social life. Seemingly distant developments, such as marketization and commoditization of religion as well as legalization and securitization of social conflicts, are transforming historical expressions of 'religion' and 'religiosity' yet these changes are seldom if ever understood as forming a coherent, structured and systemic ensemble. 'Religion in the Neoliberal Age' includes an extensive introduction framing the research area, and linking it to existing scholarship, before looking at four key issues: 1. How changes in state structures have empowered new modes of religious activity in welfare production and the delivery of a range of state services; 2. How are religion-state relations transforming under the pressures of globalization and neoliberalism; 3. How historical churches and their administrations are undergoing change due to structural changes in society, and what new forms of religious body are emerging; 4. How have law and security become new areas for solving religious conflicts. Outlining changes in both the political-institutional and cultural spheres, the contributors offer an international overview of developments in different countries and state of the art representation of religion in the new global political economy.

Presenting an overview of an emerging field in the study of contemporary religion, this book, together with a complementary volume Religion in the Neoliberal Age, explores issues of religion, neoliberalism and consumer society. Claiming that we have entered a new phase that implies more than the recasting of state-religion relations, the authors examine how religious changes are historically anchored in modernity but affected by the commoditization, mediatization, neoliberalization and globalization of society and social life. Religion in Consumer Society explores religion as both shaped by consumer culture and as shaping consumer culture. Following an introduction which critically analyses studies on consumer culture and integrates scholarship in the sociology of religion, this book explores the following topics: how consumerism and electronic media have shaped globalized culture, and how this is affecting religion; the dynamics and characteristics of often overlooked middle-class religion, and how these relate to globalization and differences between 'developed' and 'emerging' countries; emerging trends, and how we understand phenomena as different as mega churches and holistic spiritualistic journeys, and how the pressures of consumer culture act on religious traditions, indigenous and exogenous; the politics of religious phenomena in the Age of Neoliberalism; and the hybrid areas emerging from these reconfigurations of religion and the market. Outlining changes in both the political-institutional and cultural spheres, the contributors offer an international overview of developments in different countries and state of the art representation of religion in the new global political economy.

Presenting an overview of an emerging field in the study of contemporary religion, this book, together with a complementary volume Religion in the Neoliberal Age, explores issues of religion, neoliberalism and consumer society. Claiming that we have entered a new phase that implies more than the recasting of state-religion relations, the authors examine how religious changes are historically anchored in modernity but affected by the commoditization, mediatization, neoliberalization and globalization of society and social life. Religion in Consumer Society explores religion as both shaped by consumer culture and as shaping consumer culture. Following an introduction which critically analyses studies on consumer culture and integrates scholarship in the sociology of religion, this book explores the following topics: how consumerism and electronic media have shaped globalized culture, and how this is affecting religion; the dynamics and characteristics of often overlooked middle-class religion, and how these relate to globalization and differences between 'developed' and 'emerging' countries; emerging trends, and how we understand phenomena as different as mega churches and holistic spiritualistic journeys, and how the pressures of consumer culture act on religious traditions, indigenous and exogenous; the politics of religious phenomena in the Age of Neoliberalism; and the hybrid areas emerging from these reconfigurations of religion and the market. Outlining changes in both the political-institutional and cultural spheres, the contributors offer an international overview of developments in different countries and state of the art representation of religion in the new global political economy.

This book, together with a complementary volume 'Religion in Consumer Society', focuses on religion, neoliberalism and consumer society; offering an overview of an emerging field of research in the study of contemporary religion. Claiming that we are entering a new phase of state-religion relations, the editors examine how this is historically anchored in modernity but affected by neoliberalization and globalization of society and social life. Seemingly distant developments, such as marketization and commoditization of religion as well as legalization and securitization of social conflicts, are transforming historical expressions of 'religion' and 'religiosity' yet these changes are seldom if ever understood as forming a coherent, structured and systemic ensemble. 'Religion in the Neoliberal Age' includes an extensive introduction framing the research area, and linking it to existing scholarship, before looking at four key issues: 1. How changes in state structures have empowered new modes of religious activity in welfare production and the delivery of a range of state services; 2. How are religion-state relations transforming under the pressures of globalization and neoliberalism; 3. How historical churches and their administrations are undergoing change due to structural changes in society, and what new forms of religious body are emerging; 4. How have law and security become new areas for solving religious conflicts. Outlining changes in both the political-institutional and cultural spheres, the contributors offer an international overview of developments in different countries and state of the art representation of religion in the new global political economy.

Like any other subject, the study of religion is a child of its time. Shaped and forged over the course of the twentieth century, it has reflected the interests and political situation of the world at the time. As the twenty-first century unfolds, it is undergoing a major transition along with religion itself. This volume showcases new work and new approaches to religion which work across boundaries of religious tradition, academic discipline and region. The influence of globalizing processes has been evident in social and cultural networking by way of new media like the internet, in the extensive power of global capitalism and in the increasing influence of international bodies and legal instruments. Religion has been changing and adapting too. This handbook offers fresh insights on the dynamic reality of religion in global societies today by underscoring transformations in eight key areas: Market and Branding; Contemporary Ethics and Virtues; Intimate Identities; Transnational Movements; Diasporic Communities; Responses to Diversity; National Tensions; and Reflections on 'Religion'. These themes demonstrate the handbook's new topics and approaches that move beyond existing agendas. Bringing together scholars of all ages and stages of career from around the world, the handbook showcases the dynamism of religion in global societies. It is an accessible introduction to new ways of approaching the study of religion practically, theoretically and geographically.

Cosmological theories have been unpopular within philosophy and theology for a long time. Meanwhile, particularly during the last decades, speculative cosmology has been transformed into a discipline that follows the rigorous and exact methods of

The growth of telecommunications has been largely based on mobile and data services in the past 10 years and this growth will continue. For instance, it is forecasted that after 2005 the mobile traffic turnover in Europe will exceed that of fixed telephone traffic, and the penetration of Internet access through mobile will exceed that of fixed access. It is expected that new value-added services will be Internet-based and that IP traffic will outweigh the amount of traditional ISDN based telephone traffic. The transition from existing telecommunications services to mobile and Internet-based services will change the service infrastructure as well as the customer and service management structures. This volume comprises the proceedings of the Working Conference on Personal Wireless Communications (PWC'2001), which was sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and organized by IFIP Working Group 6.8. It was held in Lappeenranta, Finland in August 2001. The PWC'2001 conference is a forum for tutorials, discussions and presentations of new developments in mobile and wireless research.The contributions to this volume have been divided into six categories that vary from voice over IP implementations to quality of service issues; from service aspects to performance and modelling issues; from modern cellular networks to future wireless systems. This volume will be essential reading for IT students and researchers as well as for theoreticians interested in the current state of the telecommunication systems.

Substantial new breakthroughs are happening in telecommunications technology. This volume presents a state-of-the-art review of the current research activities in intelligent network technology. It contains the proceedings of a workshop on intelligent networks organized by the International Federation of Information Processsing and held as part of the Third Summer School on Telecommunications in Lappeenranta, Finland, August 1994.

Smart Networks comprises the proceedings of Smartnet'2002, the seventh conference on Intelligence in Networks, which was sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and organized by Working Group 6.7. It was held in Saariselka, Finland, in April 2002. The conference series closely reflects the developments in networking.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the First International IFIP TC6 Conference on Autonomic Networking, AN 2006. The 24 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in the book. The papers are organized in topical sections on autonomic networks, self-configuration, autonomic platform and services, autonomic management and discovery policy-based management, ad hoc, sensor and ambient autonomic networks, and autonomic control of mobile networks.

Smart Networks comprises the proceedings of Smartnet'2002, the seventh conference on Intelligence in Networks, which was sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and organized by Working Group 6.7. It was held in Saariselka, Finland, in April 2002.
The conference series closely reflects the developments in networking."

The growth of telecommunications has been largely based on mobile and data services in the past 10 years and this growth will continue. For instance, it is forecasted that after 2005 the mobile traffic turnover in Europe will exceed that of fixed telephone traffic, and the penetration of Internet access through mobile will exceed that of fixed access. It is expected that new value-added services will be Internet-based and that IP traffic will outweigh the amount of traditional ISDN based telephone traffic. The transition from existing telecommunications services to mobile and Internet-based services will change the service infrastructure as well as the customer and service management structures. This volume comprises the proceedings of the Working Conference on Personal Wireless Communications (PWC'2001), which was sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and organized by IFIP Working Group 6.8. It was held in Lappeenranta, Finland in August 2001. The PWC'2001 conference is a forum for tutorials, discussions and presentations of new developments in mobile and wireless research. The contributions to this volume have been divided into six categories that vary from voice over IP implementations to quality of service issues; from service aspects to performance and modelling issues; from modern cellular networks to future wireless systems. This volume will be essential reading for IT students and researchers as well as for theoreticians interested in the current state of the telecommunication systems.

Substantial new breakthroughs are happening in telecommunications technology. This volume presents a state-of-the-art review of the current research activities in intelligent network technology. It contains the proceedings of a workshop on intelligent networks organized by the International Federation of Information Processsing and held as part of the Third Summer School on Telecommunications in Lappeenranta, Finland, August 1994.

Festive animated feature in which an elf is handed the daunting but exciting task of saving Christmas. With Satan's evil twin on the loose and bent on destruction the prospects of a merry Christmas seem glum. Can a brave elf stave off the threat and save millions of children from disappointment?

Video Enhanced Reflective Practice (VERP), an application of Video Interaction Guidance, supports individuals or groups to reflect on and develop their professional communication, teaching or therapeutic skills with their clients through shared review of moments of attuned interaction in video clips of their day-to-day practice. This book brings together international researchers and practitioners from a range of professions to define VERP, present its theoretical basis and review the current research evidence. Increasing in popularity, VERP is used as a reflective professional development tool for a wide range of professionals and employees, supporting them to analyse and reflect on moments of their effective interaction on video, in situ in the professional environment. The VERP approach is optimistic and empowering, focusing on strength and potential rather than problems or weaknesses. This book provides examples of VERP's application in a wide range of sectors and will be of interest to trainers, CPD providers, managers, psychologists, social workers, higher education educators, health visitors, early years professionals, teachers, counsellors, therapists, and professionals in the private, voluntary, government and local authority sectors.

Cosmological theories have been unpopular within philosophy and theology for a long time. Meanwhile, particularly during the last decades, speculative cosmology has been transformed into a discipline that follows the rigorous and exact methods of